Groundhog's Day

On Saturday, we packed up our car and left bright and early to celebrate Groundhog's Day in Woodstock, Illinois with my parents. "Why Woodstock?", you ask? And are you wondering if we always celebrate this little holiday in such a big way?

Well...this was the first time we spent more than a few minutes on this particular holiday.   Of course, on the morning of February 2, we'll watch the news to find out if the groundhog will see his shadow.  But usually that's it.

But this year was a big year for Groundhog's Day.  Remember the movie entitled Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell?  Well, this year was it's 20th anniversary, and it was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois.  My parents and I loved that movie, so we thought it would be fun to join in the festivities that the town had planned.  :)

We started the day off by watching the movie, Groundhog Day, in the theater that was actually in the movie.  (Does that even make sense?)  It was so fun because the theater was jam packed with an audience that was so "into" the movie.  When the main characters drove into Woodstock Townsquare, everyone cheered! 

Here I am with the kids right outside the theater.

Here's my parents with the kids near the band shell where Bill and Andie danced.

In the bandshell...

My husband and me  :)

The kids got to meet "Woodstock Willy"!

Remember that repeated scene when Bill Murray stepped into the puddle on the street? We found that spot...

...and the kids each took a turn stepping where Bill Murray did. :)

We took a tour of a few scenes of the movie with the Groundhog Day site manager.

He was fantastic, telling such funny stories and interesting facts to the 200+ people in his tour group.

This was where "Gobbler's Knob" was, the place where they housed Punxatawny Phil in a tree stump, and where he made his prediction.

This is the courthouse. I know that they had several scenes in it, but most notably, its the place where my parents, aunt and uncle got their marriage licenses. :)

This is where Andie and Bill had their snowball fight. Caroline demonstrated with a wadded up napkin. :)

After the Groundhog festivities, we spent the rest of the day and night at a hotel.  We spent a lot of time in the pool, playing cards and relaxing.  It was so much fun!  The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel.  The kids entertained themselves while waiting for the breakfast by playing with Henry's ITouch.

Such a fun weekend! Thanks, Mom and Dad! (And thanks, Julie and Chris, for taking care of Moxie, and despite the temptation to the contrary, thank you for giving her back to us!)